1) I noticed that the permissions on the r8168.ko file were -rwxrw-rw- instead of -rw-rw-rw ... very unlikely, but changed it anyway2) Version 8.009 was the current one on the Realtek website but the instructions were for 8.008 so I found an older version, recompiled and used that3) Not sure exactly how depmod works, but noticed that the instructions are for you to run it on the core, which isn't really relevant when the NIC is on the MD. But there is no equivalent step for the MD instructions. So I inserted a depmod after the chroot.

The PXE boot still takes 60 seconds to get an IP, when initially it was getting one instantly - seemed related to when I insert the 8168 module for the default initramfs but I can't see why that would effect it..

And whereas after getting the 8168 driver working initially, the boot sequence just indicates that the 8168 eth0 is up. On several tries since, and now that the full MD is working, the eth0 goes up/down/up about 5 or 6 times before finally settling on up. Each about 2-3 seconds apart and repeatable across reboots. Guess I have to live with these issues.

And yes, the Intel 945 chipset is still causing crashes with PSS so I had to disable that device.

Hmmm... well we dont see any problem on our ASUS Eee Box's. Can you describe what actually happens? Also what version of server-xorg-video-intel are you using?

Several others have had this issue with the 945 in other machines, and so have I - in two different Dell laptops that also use the 945. All my experiences were the same. The MD boots and sometimes it goes for a short while, other times it crashes almost immediately that it comes up. When it does the screen saver freezes but so does everything else. So it wasn't me that made the pss connection it was a newbie in this thread http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=5494.msg32863#msg32863

I disabled the pss device and now it seems fine. From niz's post it may only be in UI2/overlay. He also was looking for the new Intel driver but was having difficulty getting it compiled for 0710, but he obviously thought that was the issue. Dunno if he ever got it working... would love to know because without pss the screen gets to be a bit of a mess!

How do I determine which version server-xorg-video-intel I'm using? Is that the intel video driver mentioned in the xorg.conf? Would modinfo intel work?

Several others have had this issue with the 945 in other machines, and so have I - in two different Dell laptops that also use the 945. All my experiences were the same. The MD boots and sometimes it goes for a short while, other times it crashes almost immediately that it comes up. When it does the screen saver freezes but so does everything else. So it wasn't me that made the pss connection it was a newbie in this thread http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=5494.msg32863#msg32863

I disabled the pss device and now it seems fine. From niz's post it may only be in UI2/overlay. He also was looking for the new Intel driver but was having difficulty getting it compiled for 0710, but he obviously thought that was the issue. Dunno if he ever got it working... would love to know because without pss the screen gets to be a bit of a mess!

How do I determine which version server-xorg-video-intel I'm using? Is that the intel video driver mentioned in the xorg.conf? Would modinfo intel work?

I recently chatted to uplink and niz. Seems that the only way around it is a newer version of the xserver which requires a newer kernel. Uplink was aware of the issue and had tried to backport the newer driver that solves the problem, but came across the issue with the xserver and kernel version so I think he gave up. Guess I just wait for 0810...

BTW, the MD is now running nicely. The driver issue for the NIC was a pain, but finally resolved it, and without the screensaver the screen gets a bit messed up because there is no redraw, but other than that its a nice MD and cheap at around 80GBP all told (just a stick of ram)... plus shipping

I recently chatted to uplink and niz. Seems that the only way around it is a newer version of the xserver which requires a newer kernel. Uplink was aware of the issue and had tried to backport the newer driver that solves the problem, but came across the issue with the xserver and kernel version so I think he gave up. Guess I just wait for 0810...

BTW, the MD is now running nicely. The driver issue for the NIC was a pain, but finally resolved it, and without the screensaver the screen gets a bit messed up because there is no redraw, but other than that its a nice MD and cheap at around 80GBP all told (just a stick of ram)... plus shipping

Yep the problem as I said only affects some i945 machines (for example Eee Box works 100% fine... zero pss issues).

...BTW, the MD is now running nicely. The driver issue for the NIC was a pain, but finally resolved it, and without the screensaver the screen gets a bit messed up because there is no redraw, but other than that its a nice MD and cheap at around 80GBP all told (just a stick of ram)... plus shipping

But note that NewEgg (as with most US online sites) does not ship "overseas". I got a friend in San Francisco to bring it to me when he came over (was small enough to fit in his backpack )

In reality it cost me a lot more than that, as it was DOA, and he had to take it back with him, shipped it back to NewEgg, who sent it back again saying they wouldn't accept it for RMA without its original box which we didn't have. Then I called MSI USA in CA and shouted at them a lot (the guy hadn't even heard of the Wind PC and thought I was talking about the Wind laptop!) until they agreed to RMA it directly. Shipped it to them, they shipped my friend back a new one, then he airmailed it back to me in Sydney. So shipping costs were substantially more than the unit itself ... about which you can imagine I was unimpressed! But the principle is there for others so i thought I should let you all know.

The unit is essentially silent, generates almost no heat, runs on tiny amounts of power (less than 40w and I believe that is including a HDD which I'm not using) and performs very well with the exception of the NIC and PSS issues. The power supply is an external adaptor the same as a laptop supply which you can just replace the mains cable piece with a local one for your local power plug standard - it accepts 110-240v 50/60Hz. I have no idea what other countries it is available in. Originally, I think only the US, but it has been out for about 4 months now, so it should be available in EU by now.

EDIT:

Actually just found some "used for eval" units here in Australia for around US$220 including 1GB and 160GB HDD. So if they are available here, now, then they will definitely be available in the EU.

I couldn't get the patch to run without it complaining it couldn't figure out what file to edit, so I edited "drivers/net/r8169.c" manually and commented out the "{ PCI_DEVICE(PCI_VENDOR_ID_REALTEK, 0x8168), 0, 0, RTL_CFG_1 }," line.

I can't remember everything I fiddled with either, but I did get it to announce itself to the router but on the reboot after all the diskless building it hangs.

I checked the Media Directors in the pluto-admin web... the architecture was AMD64, so I changed it to i386 and said rebuild image.

But I'm thinking... when I created the new r8168.ko module, that was done on the core, which is AMD64. Can I copy that over to the i386 diskless image for device 208? If not, can I just follow the same instructions while in a chroot environment?

I can't remember everything I fiddled with either, but I did get it to announce itself to the router but on the reboot after all the diskless building it hangs.

I checked the Media Directors in the pluto-admin web... the architecture was AMD64, so I changed it to i386 and said rebuild image.

But I'm thinking... when I created the new r8168.ko module, that was done on the core, which is AMD64. Can I copy that over to the i386 diskless image for device 208? If not, can I just follow the same instructions while in a chroot environment?

No you can definitely not use amd64 kernel modules with an i386 kernel. Following the same instructions in a chroot might be worth a try though.

When you see the PXE client banner, when you first turn on the MD, before it fails to boot, what does it say the card is:

For example, mine says "Realtek 8111B/8111C"And ends up using the r8168 module. I have this built for i386, for version 710. I would be glad to post the module for you to try to download, you would have to follow the steps I added to the wiki here:http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Realtek_8168#Asus_M3A78-EM

You just let me know , and when I get home this evening, I can send you the file, or post a download link in this thread.

Regards,

Seth

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".....Because Once you've LinuxMCE'd....."System stats located at my user page:

When you see the PXE client banner, when you first turn on the MD, before it fails to boot, what does it say the card is:For example, mine says "Realtek 8111B/8111C"

Yes, that looks familiar.

I do get past the initial boot now, to the point where it announced itself to the core and the core went ahead and created the diskless directory. When I looked in pluto-admin it said it was a AMD64, so I changed it to i386 and rebuilt the MD image.

Now when it boots, I get past the part where the screen font changes and it bombs at the eth0- part.

Quote

I have this built for i386, for version 710. I would be glad to post the module for you to try to download, you would have to follow the steps I added to the wiki here:http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Realtek_8168#Asus_M3A78-EMYou just let me know , and when I get home this evening, I can send you the file, or post a download link in this thread.

Well thanks Seth, yes that would be awesome! You can PM me for my email address or just post a link.

I just wanted to thank you Colin for your persistance in getting this to work. This is what finally convinced me to buy a Wind box. Thank you also Andrew for all your help.

I ran into exactly the same issue as you Colin in the end, and I can tell you that the solution was the depmod, since we are adding a new driver r8168 and the box will not use it unless a depmod has been issued to update the availabel modules I guess.I took the liberty to update the wiki, although this command is only relevant in case we add a new driver (which does not happen for everyone, just for this particular box) but I thought it can't hurt. I would never have found this solution without your last post Colin.

Now off to enjoying 720p TV on my monitors throughout the house...

Jean

EDIT: I now see that this post is much longer than I initially thought. The problem I am referring to is the one with the network card.